Make an Ad Banner Wisely

Have you ever thought why professional designers spend so much time creating a small ad banner? You can do it yourself too but I suggest that you consider the experience of the specialists to get a really brilliant and effective ad banner.

To get an ad banner, you can open Photoshop on your computer but, sometimes and very often, it’s too complicated to create a digital moving picture by yourself. That’s why you can open a web browser and find special sites designed for banners creation.

Creating an ad banner online is also not purely free as you pay for the Internet traffic but at least it is much cheaper than any kind of software. But in this post I will concentrate on other aspects such as what, where, how, why and what for.

Let’s start with the resources. Google Display Ad Builder, free web sites that appear in search results if you ask Google for “create ad banner” or “create a free ad banner”. All kinds of banner makers are at your service. You can also open a free Photoscape application and make an animated banner in GIF format.

What banner works better?

Size. One of the most important features of an effective banner is its size in bytes. The more the size the more space it occupies on the server and the slower it downloads. The slower your ad downloads, the lesser are the chances that the visitors will see it. One of the best working sizes on the Internet is 336×280 pixels, but 728×90 pixels also performs well.

Animation. An animated banner looks fresh, lively and intriguingly. It draws attention and it’s a 90% guarantee that a site visitor will click on it. But take into account that if the animation is too quick or there are too many objects, images and text in it, it will look overloaded which is bad for visual apprehension.

Text. Too little text very often means no information. It’s a real gift to create slogans out of two or three words that express the necessary thought. Too much text may make your ad banner look overloaded. People read most of texts cornerwise. Simply make some words vivid and bigger and it’s more likely that users will click on your ad.

Hyperlinks. Indicate your website address. Make sure that the information in your banner corresponds to the page content where your hyperlink leads. And nobody has abolished the 3-click rule yet.

Location on the page. In most cases, people pay attention to the banners that are placed to the right of the page or left to the text. It is simple to explain as we are used to read from the left to the right. It’s also profitable to place your banner near important buttons like Download, Subscribe, Buy Now, etc.

These are the most essential points that you have to take into account when creating your own banner. But I would strongly recommend you to spend some more time and read tips on the banner animation as it is one of the most important issues.

Banner Graphics: Let’s Talk About It

I have found a very interesting article that contained tips and tricks on the banners design and graphics. So, read the translation below.

First of all, remember that banner text and banner graphics are closely connected. In other words, if the text is perfect but the graphic design is poor, no banner will be successful. And vice versa, if a banner graphics and plot are all right but the text is dull, there won’t be any effect.

When you think over the graphical counterpart you should remember the following rules:

Your banner should match the color scheme and style of the website where you plan to place the banner.

Your banner should draw attention. That’s why it is strongly recommended to use flash or GIF animation. But at the same time you should take care and not make your banner too bright and irritating. It was found out that the animation helps increase a banner effectiveness by 30-40%, provided that the animation doesn’t have lots of complicated details and downloads quickly.

Try to avoid quick text and image changing. Make the frame change time a bit longer in order your reader could understand the main idea and look at the images and animation.

Watch the color scheme of your banner. In no case make the banner background flash. Avoid color combinations that irritate a human eye. The best combinations (in decreasing order) are:

blue on white;
black on yellow;
green on white;
black on white;
green on red;
red on yellow;
red on white;
orange on black;
black on purple;
orange on white;
red on green.

And some more tips

Here are additional tricks that will help you create an effective banner:

Click here, Download now. The investigations show that these phrases are able to increase a banner effectiveness by 20-30%.

FREE! A magic word that will surely attract a reader. But don’t forget about the explanation text! Briefly and intriguingly explain what exactly users will get for free if they go to your site.

Catchy headings. Smart and attractive headings are one of the most important marketing tools. Use figures (100+ samples), questions (What is … How to…).

Text in blue color. A text that is underlined with the blue line is subconsciously associated with a hyperlink and therefore makes a user click on the banner text.

Windows similarity. According to experts, banners that are designed as Windows controls (drop-down menus, buttons, scroll bars, etc.) make users click on them more often.

Your Banner Doesn’t Work. What Should You Do?

If you are sure that your banner is in the right place and reaches the right audience, but there are no results, change the banner! It’s not necessary to redesign the whole banner, think over the weak points, show the banner to your friends and acquaintances and ask them to comment on it. Make regular corrections to improve your banner. Sometimes they are able to increase the banner effectiveness by 6-8 times!

Tools to Create a Banner Online

And we also made a small list of free banner makers where you can try your own design and texts: